A Story Not Told
by GeorgeWeasleysgirl
Summary: Hermione is the lone survivor of the final battle and Voldemort takes her as his wife. She gives birth to twins. The story of how Hermione tries to keep fighting, the twins try to balance life between their parents, and Voldemort tries to break Hermione.
1. Death and Marriage

Prologue

My twins are scared. They're screaming for me, their mother. My son, Zosimos puts himself in front of his sister, Leilani. The sixteen-year-olds are facing their father; Lord Voldemort.

My name is Hermione Granger and this is my story.

Ch. 1

Voldemort killed Harry in the final battle. Everyone fought desperately hard, especially Ron and me. We shot curses side by side. We took on death eaters with ease, both fighting fiercely from Harry's death and the grief it caused. One after another, the death eaters fell. Dolohov, Yaxley, Rookwood.

Suddenly Voldemort was in front of us. Everyone around us was occupied, so he had us all to himself. We fought valiantly, but it was incredibly hard to keep up with all the curses and hexes. In a flurry of light, I heard Ron scream and then everything went black.

I awoke in a dark room on an incredibly warm and comfortable bed. I had no idea how long I had been out. I sat up and let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Why was I still alive? What happened to the battle? Where's Ron? Where am I? I thought, panicking. I heard a soft chuckle coming from a chair near a fireplace, to my left. I jumped. A man stood up and walked over to me.

"So many questions, little lioness," he said. Red eyes stared at me and I realized who he was and that he had used legillemency to find out my thoughts. I stared at him, frozen in place. "If you have yet to realize it," he said, leaning down in front of my frightened face, "I won."

I was having a hard time breathing. "T-t-t-the others?" I whispered, almost inaudibly. He smiled cruelly.

"Everyone who resisted is dead. Including," he paused dramatically, smiling evilly, "your precious Ronald Weasley."

No, no, no. This was all wrong. Harry was supposed to win. He was supposed to have married Ginny and had kids named after his late parents! I was supposed to marry Ron, and have maybe two kids, naming my daughter Rose! This was ALL wrong. Evil doesn't triumph over good!

Images of my two best friends kept flitting through my mind. I saw everyone, the Weasley's, the school professors, my dorm mates, everyone! All of them were dead? I tried not to cry in front of Voldemort, but that seemed to be what he was waiting for. As tear after tear began betraying me, he smiled. He ran his thumb down my jaw line. I instantly pulled away. Then, he left me to my tears.

I stayed in that room for I don't know how long. Days? Weeks? Months? I wouldn't eat unless the house elves force fed me or looked upset. I still had a soft spot for them ever since S.P.E.W. I stayed in bed for the majority of the time unless I was looking out the window at the sunrise and sunset. I didn't speak more than a sentence a day. I kept the room as dark as I could. Voldemort sent me books on Dark Magic to read. I didn't read them until he started to get annoyed. Even when I did read them, I didn't comprehend them.

One day, I had just finished reading one of the Dark Magic books. I wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what it was about. I was staring at the fire. I didn't look up when the door to my chambers opened. Voldemort spoke to me, but I didn't listen, I listened only to the crackling of the fire. He sat in the chair next to me with a small sigh.

"Hermione." I heard him speak my name as if from far away. My grief had alienated me from this world. I barely felt him grasp my hand and he spoke to me but I didn't comprehend.

Then, two words broke through my coma-like state. "Marry me." I felt him slide a ring into place on my left hand.

"No."

It was the first time since the day he first brought me here that I spoke to him. He looked up from my hand, surprised yet pleased. My head was clearing and I was becoming myself again; slowly re-entering this world. I pulled my hand away from him and shook my head.

"Yes," he said. He leaned over and gently kissed my cheek; I pulled away. He stood and left the room. I stared down into the emerald ring, seeing my once more alive and frightened eyes reflecting back through the glassy rock.

The next few weeks I went into a new state of being. I was always hysterical or laughing insanely. This was more than I could take. I was overwhelmed. First losing everyone I love and then this? I wouldn't accept it. I did accept it. I don't know...I felt crazy. House elves would come in and take measurements for my wedding dress. I'd laugh and tell them I wasn't getting married. They'd ask me to pick between fabrics and I'd burst into tears screaming, "WHY DOES IT MATTER? I DON'T WANNA MARRY HIM!" I'd try to hurt myself but they'd always restrain me. I barely took in their frightened faces. They actually put me in a muggle strait-jacket a couple times. I'd stare at it for a long time in complete silence. Then, I'd start laughing hysterically. "IT'S...A STRAIGHT-JACKET. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" And then I'd collapse, tired from the emotional turmoil.

I felt oddly disconnected from my life, but I felt like I was doing this purposefully. It helped me avoid reality when I laughed. When I broke down into fits of hysteria, I secretly hoped that I would be considered crazy and that Voldemort would lose his desire to marry me. I hoped for anything to happen that would give me an escape route.

Five days before my wedding, I tried to drown myself in the bathtub. It could have worked too! That bathtub was as big as the Prefects bathtub at Hogwarts! The house elves pulled me out.

Four days before my wedding, I just faked being dead, hoping beyond hope they'd get rid of me. A house elf, however, yelled in my ear and I jumped, giving myself away.

Three days before my wedding, I tried to choke myself on my food. The house elves performed the Heimlich maneuver. I love house elves, don't get me wrong, but they were so annoyingly helpful!

Two days before my wedding, I tried to cut myself with my dinner knife. The house elves grabbed it from me and gave me food that I could eat without a knife.

On the day before my wedding, I went out on my room's balcony. I felt the breeze whip through my hair. I climbed up on the rail, which was about six inches thick. I held my arms out and closed my eyes. The house elves weren't stopping me, I could jump. I lifted one foot and a smile graced my lips. I was finally going to be free. A strong arm grabbed my waist and pulled me backwards into him. Darn, foiled again, I thought.

Voldemort turned me to face him and I could see he was angry. "You could have killed yourself!" He hissed.

"That's the point," I said, my tone dry and face expressionless. He growled then sighed exasperatedly.

"In," he said pointing to my room. I obeyed and got into my bed. As soon as he left, I'd go back out. To my surprise, and great displeasure, he sat in a chair next to my bed. I inwardly growled. He was going to watch me all night. I'd have to wait until he fell asleep. After half an hour of me tossing and turning, he spoke. "Sleep, Hermione."

"I can't," I said, annoyed greatly by his presence. He muttered a sleeping charm and I instantly fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	2. Marriage and Such

Oh guys, I am SO touched. I had like 20 emails telling me that you guys put this story on story alert, your favorite list, or reviewed! Now bear with this chapter because it is rather quick…The story mainly takes place years after this so don't expect TOO much detail. I love you all!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Ch. 2

"Wake up Hermione, we're getting married today." My eyes flung open and I was looking up at Voldemort. "Eat and get ready," he told me before leaving. The house elves brought me food, but I couldn't eat. They insisted and finally were driven to force feed me.

Then, they got me in my wedding dress. I did nothing to help them. I just lay there. I think I was in shock. I didn't want to believe what was about to happen. They led me to the hall where the ceremony was to take place and my heart was beating incredibly fast. I felt trapped and claustrophobic. I wanted to run, but suddenly Rodolphus Lestrange, Bellatrix's husband, held my arm. Why in the world does HE have to represent my father? I thought bitterly. Why do I even care? We headed down the aisle and I could hear only the pounding of my heart.

All too soon, I was standing beside him. He wore a muggle suit and I was dully surprised by that. He smirked at me the whole time. Suddenly, it was time for me to say the dreaded "I do."

"I do." The words flew so quickly and freely out of my mouth I almost gasped. I looked up at Voldemort and he gave me a small wink. I blinked. Slowly understanding dawned on me. The bloody prat had imperiused me! He knew that I would not have been able to say it on my own. I felt cheated. I was angry, so angry-

His practically non-existent lips were touching mine. I was disgusted. I tried to push him away but he was holding my waist. He released me, but then grasped my hand.

Oh Gosh.

I was Voldemort's wife.

*************************************************************************

Our honeymoon lasted a whole bloody week. We stayed a gorgeous inn, I'll admit. The food was delicious, I'll agree. In fact, it would've been rather nice if it weren't for HIM. The nights were the worst. Every night before he'd bring me to bed, I'd try to kill myself. It never worked. He always stopped me. I felt disgusting every morning, not quite believing what he had done to me, yet realizing it as I found myself wrapped in his cold arms. I'd always take a long shower to try and wash myself of the feeling of his touch. I'd examine myself for bruises, but never found any. That was strange, considering he had to be rough with me since I resisted.

"Why me?" I screamed at him one night, emotionally.

He smirked at me. "My dear Hermione, you do realize how valuable you are to me, do you not?"

"What?" I asked.

"You are the best friend of my late arch-nemesis. You are the brightest witch of your age. Lastly, you are a symbol of the Light. Symbolically, I have taken the Light and it is now mine," he said, kissing me.

The days were alright. He'd let me do whatever I wanted as long as he was with me. I went swimming in the huge indoor pool a lot. He would come along. He was actually an incredibly good swimmer. I found this out when I tried to drown myself. He had been at my side in an instant and pulled me up. He yelled at me, but I couldn't care less.

Finally, the week of torture was up and we returned to his headquarters, the Malfoy Mansion. The next couple of weeks involved me going to every single stupid death eater meeting and spending every meal at his right side. Every night, I'd be wrapped in his disgusting embrace. 

One day, I felt sick, so I did all kinds of spells to see what was wrong. All the spells said I was fine...so I tried a different one. My stomach glowed from the spell. Oh no. No, no, no. I was carrying the Dark Lord's baby.

I entered my bedroom, white as a ghost. Or rather, whiter than my husband, and that's saying something. He looked up from the book he was reading. "What's wrong?" he asked. I couldn't speak. I walked over and sat beside him on the couch. He looked at me inquisitively.

"I'm gonna have a baby," I whispered, as if it were some dirty secret. It kind of was. He froze, a bit shocked. Then, his mouth curved into an evil smile.

"Really?" he asked. I nodded and he picked me up and spun me around. "This is great!" he said happily. He laughed maniacally. I had a headache and the spinning wasn't helping. I put a hand to my temple and he laid me down on the bed. "Can I get you anything?" he asked, kneeling beside me.

Whoa...The Dark Lord serving a _mudblood_? I thought. This was all so confusing. "Pain reliever?" I asked. He muttered a charm and I sighed contently as the pain left me.

"Anything else?"

"I want you to leave," I said, smirking. I crossed my fingers, hoping he would leave.

"No can do, babe."

Gr...so close, I thought. He got into bed beside me and held me. I was exhausted and soon fell asleep, my husband grinning stupidly the whole time.


	3. Names of Meaning

The next 9 months were...interesting. I couldn't attend meals with everyone, because the smells were overwhelming. I'd get morning sickness. Other days I'd have cravings and the house elves would gladly supply me with the requested foods. Voldemort came into our room one day. "What are you eating?" he asked in disgust.

"Pepperoni pizza. It's quite popular in America," I replied.

Then there were the mood swings. I'd be in the middle of a very serious meeting and the baby would kick. I'd burst into fits of giggles. Everyone would stare and I'd calm down, only to have the baby kick again. Eventually they made me stop attending the meetings.

Other days, I would think of Ron. I'd break down crying. "What's wrong?" Voldemort would ask, confused.

"IT'S NOT RON'S BABY!" I'd wail.

Then at two in the morning on March 23 I sat up straight in bed. "Wake up," I said nudging him.

"Go back to sleep," he mumbled.

"THE BABY'S COMING!" I yelled. That got him up. I don't remember much after that, I just remember lots of pain and wizards and witches all around me. I think they finally knocked me out because they were panicking about something.

When I awoke, the room was quiet. I looked over and saw my husband, his back toward me, holding what I could only guess was my baby. He heard me sit up and walked over to the bed. I noticed he was holding...two?

"You had twins, darling," he said giving me one. "A girl," he nodded to the one in my arms, "and a boy," the one in his arms. I looked down at the beautiful creation in my arms and couldn't help but smile. She was asleep. They both were. He was gorgeous. They both had actual noses unlike their father and my skin color, not his pasty white, thank goodness.

"The boy will be named Zosimos. It means, able to survive," my husband said, sitting beside me.

"Can I name the girl?" I asked, my eyes pleading. He paused but then nodded. "Leilani," I said immediately. "It means flower from heaven."

"Sounds like you've been thinking about that for awhile," he commented.

"I have. Thank you for letting me name her."

Voldemort smiled. "I never thought I'd see the day when you thanked me." I felt awkward and didn't say anything. "You know it's been 9 months since you last tried to kill yourself?" he pointed out.

I paused. I hadn't noticed that. "I guess...I have something to live for now," I said thoughtfully.

"Indeed," he said, kissing my forehead.

During the next three months, I began to live again. My life revolved around my darling children. They were my joy. I didn't mind waking up at four in the morning when they would cry. I would sing to them like any mother would. I loved them more than anything.

They both had brown eyes, but I noticed it was a few shades darker than my own. When I mentioned this to Voldemort, he smiled. "Originally, that was my eye color," he said.

"Really?" I asked, staring at his eyes. "I never would have guessed."

One day, I was looking for Voldemort. I had finished reading all my books and wanted to ask for more. I paused outside his study door. I was about to knock when I heard voices.

"And now that you've got the children, what are your plans my lord?" One voice asked. It belonged to a middle-aged man I guessed.

"My wife needs to become the Dark Lady. However, she refuses. So, I'm going to take the children away from her until she submits to me. If she still refuses, I'll kill one of them."

"And if she still refuses my lord?"

"Then I'll kill her and raise the other as my own, of course."

I felt sick. I quickly and quietly went back to my room. I didn't want my babies to have this future. Just when I thought Voldemort was possibly warming up to me, this happened. I would become the Dark Lady for them; there was no doubt in my mind of that. But I hoped that wasn't my only choice. I'd do anything just to start fresh; the twins and I. I wanted to escape this nightmare. I looked down upon my children, sleeping so peacefully, not knowing how dark their future was. I had to save them from their future. 


	4. Voldemort's Plan

**Ok people, so here is the next chapter. It is insanely short, but insanely important. Also, in answer to a question I got in a review, Voldie here is snake-like not Tom Riddle-like. **

**And another thing...I love that you guys are putting this story on story alert and such, but I would love reviews too. I need to know what you guys think about each chapter. Many thanks to those who have reviewed, you make my day. Feel free to ask more questions and I will answer them. **

I am no idiot. I know she heard my conversation. She was going to try to escape. Who wouldn't? But no one can escape me, Lord Voldemort. I'll let her think she's smart; I'll let her escape. She'll think she's safe, but she won't be. I'll come back. Not right away, but eventually. She'll lose all hope for a second time, and she won't be able to bear it.

That is when she'll be broken. She won't resist me. She won't shy away from my touch. She will be mine. Utterly, completely, mine. Then, I'll finally be able to teach her the Dark Arts. She's the brightest witch of her age. I'm the brightest wizard. Oh, the possibilities of our powers COMBINED! There will be NO defiance once we are a team. We will be feared above all. All her power will be mine and I will have more control over the world than any wizard there ever was.

As for the children, they will get a proper education. They'll attend Hogwarts; The Carrows are in control there once more. Outside of school, I'll teach them more in depth the Dark Arts. Hermione will teach them alongside me, willingly. I smile, thinking of her submitting to me. My son will be as cruel as I, but loyal to me. He will have no mercy on his opponents even when they grovel on the ground like the pathetic souls they are. If he rebels against me, I will not hesitate to kill him. But he will be great, like his father. My daughter will be evil to the bone, as I am. She will excel at torture curses and smile at the sound of screams. She will be better than Bellatrix Lestrange ever was, I'll see to that. If she rebels, I will not hesitate to kill her either.

I am a genius. 


	5. A New Life?

There was a knock at my door. I shakily said, "Come in." Narcissa Malfoy entered. I raised my eyebrow at her. She looked as snooty as ever, but she wasn't glaring at me like usual.

"I'm going to get you out of here," she said sincerely. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. She exhaled. "I know his plans. I also know what it's like to have a child and for him to be your world. I was that way when Lucius was in Azkaban. Your children are your world as Draco was mine. I'm a mother offering to help another mother."

We stared at each other for a long time in silence. Then I nodded. "Alright then."

Narcissa quickly went into business mode. "Pack anything you'll need and I'll keep him out of your room for a while. Shrink it so that it fits in a pocket or something of that sort. At the stroke of midnight, I will lower the anti-apparation wards. He'll be with you, but if you're out of his grip you'll be able to leave. At 12:01 I will close the wards. Do you understand that you need to be ready to grab the twins and apparate immediately?" she asked.

"Yes," I said. "Thank you."

That night, everything was set. My bags were shrunk and in my pocket. The twins were asleep and I was reading a book. Voldemort came in. "Good evening," he said kissing my cheek. I leaned away, as I always did. He sighed. I continued reading. "Mione," he said sitting beside me.

My thoughts were raging with anger. Only Ron called me that! "Don't call me that," I said. He rolled his eyes. The nerve! He suddenly became very serious.

"I'll call you what I want." His voice was like a growl. I looked up from my book to see that he was inches in front of my face. I backed away quickly.

I kept silent and stared into his eyes. His anger seemed to dissolve after a bit and I was confused as to why. As he stared into my eyes, he began to smile. He smirked and then let me get back to reading my book.

It was 11:59. His arm was draped over my waist. I slowly, oh so slowly, slipped out of bed. I put my pillow under his arm and made my way to the children. As I scooped Zosimos up, the clock chimed twelve. "What are you doing?" I nearly jumped out of my skin. I picked up Leilani. "Answer me Hermione." Voldemort was getting up. I had to leave NOW. I spun in the air just as his hand reached out for my arm.

I blinked in the semi-darkness. There's a bit of a time difference here, I thought. I walked out of the alleyway and onto the street. I quickly began walking toward my destination, the twins crying because they had been woken up. The few people who were out spoke in their language, which I did not know. Some streets were playing loud music and adults talked and laughed. I turned off to a somewhat quieter road and looked for the house number I wanted. 17. There it was. Ron would kill me if he knew where I was going. I took a breath and made my way up the long driveway and to the fancy door. I rang the doorbell and waited. Harry would think I was doing the right thing...I hoped. After a few minutes, the door opened.

"Zdrasti?" Viktor Krum said. He did a double-take when he saw me. "Hermy-o-ninny?"

"Viktor," I said. "Please help me."

Viktor stared at me in shock for a moment longer. Then he moved aside to let me in. I entered and he said, "Follow me." He led me to a large study where there were two other men who looked important. They stared at me but pretended not to. Viktor began speaking fluent, rapid Bulgarian to them. They exchanged a few words and then the two men left, still eyeing me and my crying babies. I comforted them quietly as Viktor shut the door behind the men and sat at the long table that was now vacated. I sat across from him at his gesture to do so. "I thought you vere dead."

"No, not dead. Everyone else is. I survived, sadly. Voldemort-" Viktor shuddered but I continued, "wanted a...a trophy if you will. A prize that said he won and something that was a bit of a punch in Harry's face. So, he took me as his wife."

Viktor inhaled sharply, but I pressed on. "Yes, I am Voldemort's wife. And these are his children; my son Zosimos and my daughter Leilani. Yesterday, I overheard my husband discussing with a servant of his how I still refused to become the 'Dark Lady'. He said he was going to take my children from me until I submitted, or he would kill me, my daughter, and keep the son for himself."

Viktor looked like he couldn't bear to hear any more but I had to let it all out. "Then Narcissa Malfoy, I'm not sure if you remember her son Draco?" Viktor nodded. "Well, she came to visit me. She said she knew what Voldemort was going to do and she wanted to help me escape. At first I doubted, but she said she knew what it was like to be a mother. I understood that and so at midnight, just awhile ago in Britain, she lowered the anti-apparation wards and I escaped...I...didn't know where else to go...everyone's dead...I don't have to stay, I can find somewhere else-" my voice had lost its strong tone and I felt vulnerable and lost.

"Hermione. Voo are velcome to stay here! In fact, I insist. Where else could voo go? Voo can't trust anyone these days. Sons are turning over fathers for betrayal to Voldemort. It's terrible. But voo must stay here. I vill tell no one who voo are." He spoke sincerely, I could tell.

I smiled and tried to wipe away tears that had leaked from finally seeing a friend again. After a moment's hesitation he engulfed me (and my children...) in a hug. I cried and a house elf came in on Viktor's command. "May Sandy take your children to a nursery? There's one on the third floor. She's very good with children."

I paused, my mother's instinct warning me to be cautious. The house elf looked harmless though and I knew I could trust Viktor. I nodded and handed her my children. She took them gently and I smiled. I looked up and saw Viktor was watching me. "Hermione...Was he cruel to you?"

I hesitated because in many ways he was cruel, but in other ways he had been exceedingly nice. Yes, he had forced me to have his children, but he also had never once tortured me with the cruciatis curse, something he was known for. "I'm sorry," Viktor said when I didn't answer. "You're free now though." I smiled at the thought.

"Yes...Free."


	6. Dreams and Voices

**Sorry it's been so long; school can be pretty annoying. However, I am almost out, and I will try very hard to complete this story and update more often. Okay, so I edited this chapter and added a little more at the end; it was really short.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

Ch. 6

I was in the guest room singing to my children softly, when I heard a knock on the door. Before I could answer, the door burst open. "HERMIONE!" Ron screeched. I almost died. "RON!" I screamed. He engulfed me in a hug and I cried into him, tears of joy flooding from my eyes. He kissed me. Passionately. And I kissed him back. I sighed contently and opened my eyes. I screamed. I was looking into the red eyes of Voldemort. He smiled evilly.

"You will never be rid of me Hermione," he said holding me to him.

"NO!" I screamed. "GO AWAY!" He laughed maniacally and suddenly my daughter was dead on the ground. "LEILANI!" I screamed. I turned around a second later and Zosimos too was dead. I screamed and screamed but no one helped me. Voldemort pulled me to him and kissed me. I was sobbing as he held me too tight.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You will never be rid of me."

I awoke in a cold sweat screaming my heart out. Sandy was by my side in an instant and I was crying very hard. I got up and quickly made my way to my children. Thank goodness, they were still alive! I exhaled but I was still shaking uncontrollably. Sandy pushed me back in bed and I cried myself back to sleep as she calmed me.

I had dreams like those often for the next three years. He haunted me. I felt like I was going to see him around the corner wherever I was or he was going to pop out behind me. Viktor said I was being paranoid. Maybe I was. I was scared for my children more so than myself. I didn't like to leave them and so I was almost always with them. Viktor was worried about me I could tell. He had Sandy keep an eye on me. During the years he tried to form our old school relationship but I told him I wasn't ready to love after my loss of Ron. Ron was the only man I ever truly loved. I could never love Viktor. My eyes had dark circles under them from lack of rest. The only things that kept me going were my babies.

But sometimes...here's the weird thing. I'd...see him in them; his traits, his mannerisms. I know it's hard to tell when they're young, but I just feel like he's them. I know he is half them. I'm the other half. But it scares me. I'm afraid they'll be like him. I want to squash all his traits out of them. I know that'll only happen if they stay away from their father. But will I ever truly be rid of him? I hope so.

Leilani and Zosimos are my joy. I don't want them to be my despair as well. Oh help me.

Protect them from their father.

Protect me.

It was one in the morning. I had woken up screaming again. It was the three year anniversary of when I had escaped him. I took deep breaths to calm myself. I couldn't go back to sleep; I'd dreamt of him again. I got out of bed and put a pair of slippers on. I left my room and headed down to the library.

I inhaled the scent of parchment and books and smiled. This was my escape. I could enter the realm of books and leave reality behind me. When I was reading, I wasn't married, I wasn't in hiding, and this world didn't exist. I began browsing the shelves for a good read.

"Hermione."

I froze where I was, my hand on a book. My throat was dry. It was an ominous whisper that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I turned slowly around, but no one was there. The room suddenly had a very eerie feel to it. It was silent. My logical side tried to kick in and tell me I was imagining things. I took a few deep breaths and then took a book and sat in a comfy armchair. I pulled my legs under me so I was sitting cross-legged. I began to read.

"Hermione."

I felt myself pale. My hands were shaky and sweaty. I looked up, but again no one was there. I felt hot breath on the back of my neck. I whipped my head around but no one was there. My heartbeat was incredibly fast and my breath was coming in short gasps. I felt frozen to the spot while longing to run from the room.

"Hermione." 

I got up and ran, desperate to get away from that voice; from his voice. I tripped and fell and everything went black. The last thing I remembered was a voice, "You will never be rid of me." 


	7. He's Back

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. I did add a bit more to the last chapter, so if you have not read it you should. Thanks so much for reading this and keep reviewing please!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

I awoke to the sound of my children crying. I groggily got out of bed and walked over to them. "Shhhhh. Shhh. It's alright. Go back to bed."

"Good Morning."

My half-closed eyes snapped open. I whipped around and saw my worst nightmare in front of me; my husband. Oh the irony of that statement. "No," I breathed. I had to be dreaming. Maybe it was another dream. But no, the scene in the library came back to me. It was real, he was real. My children! Oh, no they were here too. I had failed to protect them.

"Mummy?" my son called out. I slowly turned my head to look at him. His eyes were wide and frightened; just what I didn't want.

"It's ok. Go back to bed Zosimos." My son stared between Voldemort and me and then Leilani spoke out.

"I wanna go home."

I turned away so she wouldn't see the tears in my eyes.

"Children...You are home," Voldemort said.

* * *

I was in Voldemort's room. I stood still as he walked around me menacingly. "You thought you were safe," he said. "You thought you could escape me, didn't you? You thought you were smart enough; No one escapes me." I said nothing, staring straight ahead.

You are mine...The children are mine." My eyes filled with tears but I wouldn't let them spill over. "Do you know who killed Harry?" I stiffened at hearing his name. "Do you?" he asked again, threateningly.

I nodded. "...You did," I whispered.

"Yes. I did. And do you know who killed your Ron?" he asked. I tried to ignore the stab of pain I felt in my chest.

"...You," I said, looking down.

"Yes. Do you know who killed the idiot who hid you for three years?" My head snapped up as I looked at him. "I did." The tears began to spill over slowly.

Why me? Why was I alone? Why couldn't I protect the few people left that I cared about? He stopped behind me. He leaned down and whispered in my ear, "You will never be rid of me Hermione." I felt chills ripple through my entire body. He chuckled evilly. "Yes, Hermione, It is right to have fear of those in control." A small wave of defiance passed through me. He was not in control! He slowly began to slip his hands around my waist. I pushed him away with as much strength as I could gather. It didn't affect him but he stared down at me. "You have more willpower than I thought. You will soon learn that it is unwise to resist me." He stared at me a moment longer as I pondered his meaning, and then he changed the subject.

"I'm going to teach our children the Dark Arts." I whipped around to face him. He just stared at me as if asking "And what do you think you're going to do about it?" In my head, I tried to block the pictures of my precious twins turned evil as their father. They couldn't...they weren't capable of that much evil...were they? My mind wandered back to those moments when I had seen him in them but I pushed the thoughts away.

"I'm going to teach you the Dark Arts," he said. I shook my head. "Yes. I will."

"I won't listen," I said defiantly.

"When the time is right, my dear, you will listen and you will obey." He sounded so sure. I shook my head again.

He took me to bed with him that night. That's when I really broke down crying. It made the reality unbearable. He was back, he was going to teach my children to be like him, and I couldn't do anything but watch.


	8. Thirteen Years

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years of watching. Thirteen years of pain. Thirteen years of losing hope. For thirteen years I watched my children grow up. For thirteen years I felt the pain of them turning evil. For thirteen years I tried to warn them.

I watched them do their father's bidding. I watched them hurt others. I felt hopelessness engulf me. I told them not to listen to their father. I told them not to hurt others. I felt the hurt of them being tempted to be like their father. I warned them it wasn't what they thought, but they didn't understand.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years of watching my son grow up. Thirteen years of seeing him look like the spitting image of Tom Riddle. Thirteen years watching him grow cruel and merciless. Thirteen years of watching him inflict pain on others.

My baby boy grew up. My son looked exactly like his father and acted like him around his opponents. It all started with taking out his anger with dark spells instead of talking about it to people. I watched him hurt others and I watched as they begged for mercy and he didn't listen. I told him not to become his father but he told me that this was who he was and I had to accept it. He told me this gently, but I knew he meant it.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years of watching my daughter grow up. Thirteen years of seeing my face in her but his original brown eyes and hair. Thirteen years of watching evil corrupt her. Thirteen years of watching her being deeply involved in all evil schemes.

My daughter grew and looked just like her father as well, except her face seemed to have my structure. I hoped that maybe some of my heart would make its way into her, but my husband took control of her. He took her under his dark wing and showed her practically all he knew. She was immensely interested, and I knew I had lost her.

Thirteen years.

Thirteen years of resisting him. Thirteen years filled with crying when no one was looking. Thirteen years of clinging to a crumbling hope. Thirteen years until I gave in.

I pushed him away; I refused to follow my children's' path. I cried often when I was alone. My hope finally crumbled thirteen years later, on my children's sixteenth birthday.

Thirteen years.


	9. Not So Sweet Sixteen

Thank you so much for all your reviews! It really makes my day! I'm sort of nervous about this chapter because you guys are meeting the sixteen year old twins…:/ tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I do own Zosimos and Leilani.

* * *

"Happy birthday Zosimos," I said, kissing his forehead. He opened his eyes.

"Thanks Mum," he said, groggily getting out of bed. He was nearly six feet tall and all but towered over me. Leaning down, he kissed my cheek. I smiled at him.

"My baby is sixteen today." Zosimos rolled his eyes at me. I watched as he got ready for the day. He looked over at me and noticed I looked particularly worn out.

"Mum, are you alright?"

"Yes, darling, I'm fine..." He could tell that wasn't completely true.

"...Dad?" He asked knowingly.

I smiled a little. He always knew. "Yes. But you don't have to worry about me." I made my way to the door.

"I love you."

I smiled and looked back. "I love you too, son."

My son was cruel and merciless to all his opponents. He was as evil as his father. He wouldn't care watching people get hurt; he rather enjoyed it in fact. But he loved me and his sister dearly. He would not let any harm come to Leilani at all, and she could be a bit reckless. When my husband hurt me, he always seemed to know. He'd always do whatever he could to help me.

* * *

"Happy Birthday Lani," I said, kissing her forehead. She rolled over and stretched.

"Thanks Mum." She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek.

"Sixteen. I can hardly believe it."

"I know. I can't either." She was smiling excitedly. I smiled at her. "What'd you get your brother?"

She smiled hugely. "Come see!" She went over to a dresser and opened it. I looked inside and saw a book. I picked the tome up and studied it. It was a book all about animals and how a wizard/witch could connect with them. It was a very powerful magic that Leilani had a gift for. Zosimos always felt second best in that subject around her and she knew it, so this would mean so much to him. Leilani cared enough to want to help him. Ever since Leilani was about four years old she had a special connection with any animal she came in contact with. She could control Nagini even though she couldn't speak parseltongue, like her brother could.

"Oh Leilani. He'll love it!"

"I hope so." Her eyes were sparkling. She really did care about her brother, even though she teased him to no ends and even though he was extremely over-protective of her.

"He will." I kissed her on the cheek and walked to the door.

"Love you Mum."

"Love you too."

* * *

Around noon, I was looking for Leilani. Zosimos was already at lunch and she was nowhere to be found. Voldemort wasn't very patient, as everyone knows, so I went to find her. As I reached the door to a small library, I heard voices.

"Lani..." I pressed my ear to the door, but the voice stopped. Cautiously, I opened the door. A spitting image of Draco Malfoy was kissing my daughter. His hands were on the wall her back was against. She was kissing back enthusiastically. I went to speak out, but couldn't. Her face; she looked so happy; purely so, not evilly so. For the first time in thirteen years she was blissful without evil intent. Draco's son Scorpius wasn't going too far with her either; he kept his hands respectfully on the wall. He pulled away from her and she smiled.

"Scorpius." They must've noticed movement from me, because they suddenly turned, eyes wide.

"Mum please!" Lani said running to me. Her eyes pleading she asked, "Please don't tell Dad!"

Scorpius had turned more pale than usual. He had good reason too. The last boy Leilani liked, Voldemort found out and...We never saw him ever again.

I looked at both of them. "I won't. But be more careful." They smiled gratefully and Lani hugged me.

"Now off to lunch." Scorpius went to leave too, but I stopped him.

"You make her happy. You hurt her and I'll hurt you…With the help of my husband." Scorpius gulped and then left.

* * *

The kids were enjoying their sweet sixteen birthday celebration. They had some kids their age around such as Scorpius Malfoy, Randy Zabini, Lisa Nott, and Francesca Goyle. After a while, Voldemort took Zosimos outside and motioned for me to come. I followed; only because I wanted to be sure nothing bad was going to happen to my son.

Outside, there was a beautiful unicorn. It was grazing, its horn glinting in the sun. A unicorn is very powerful. Its horn contains more magic than 20 wizards combined. It was a pure white and its coat just glistened. It had a powerful build, muscles rippling when it walked. Its mane and tail were silver and perfectly combed. My breath caught just looking at it. It looked up when my husband snapped his fingers and it had bright blue eyes filled with intelligence.

Voldemort looked at Zosimos, who couldn't take his eyes off it. "She's all yours."

Zosimos looked up at his father. "Really?" He nodded and Zosimos smiled. "Thanks!"

"Go on," he said giving Zosimos a little push. My husband and I watched as he walked toward the gorgeous horse.

"What do you think?" my husband whispered to me.

"...I'm impressed," I admitted. He smirked at me, but I ignored him.

Zosimos slowly touched the animal's neck and she looked at him straight in the eye. Slowly, ever so slowly, he reached with his other hand and touched the horn. Keeping eye contact, the magic began to work. It looked like pixie dust from the muggle movie Peter Pan. It flowed around horse and owner rapidly and then disappeared. Zosimos let go of the horn and smiled.

He had connected with the unicorn, so now it was bound to him. He was her master. She watched as he began to walk away. She followed him like a puppy. He stopped walking and she rested her head on his shoulder. He turned around and she walked right in front of him, inviting him onto her back. He smiled and gently grabbed a handful of her mane and pulled himself up. He didn't have to control her like a muggle horse and rider. The magic made a bond between them. She knew what he wanted before he asked her. She broke into a gallop and headed toward the wide open field.

I watched as they went further away and Voldemort put his hand on my shoulder. I flicked it off, like I usually did. He didn't say anything which was unusual.

Next, Voldemort called Leilani outside. She looked at me questioningly and I shrugged. She turned her gaze to her father and he pointed up in the sky. We both looked and at first didn't see anything. I saw it before she did; a speck on the horizon. As it came into view Lani gasped.

The creature had all the build of a horse but with wings. It was the powerful Pegasus. It was more dangerous than the fairytale Pegasus muggles read about. Sure, it didn't have as much magic as the unicorn, but the magic it had could be very dangerous. Pegasus' were often used in battle because of their flight advantage and how all their magic could be focused into a weapon. If a Pegasus was against you, it could kill you with a single look. That's where the expression 'if looks could kill' originally came from.

This Pegasus was a beautiful pale blue with wings like fluffy clouds. Its mane was a dark brown; almost black. It landed in front of us and its big brown eyes examined us. Voldemort gave Lani a little push and she stepped forward. I could feel a concentration of heavy magic coming from her; she was focusing very hard on using all of her animal connection power to bond with the Pegasus. A Pegasus is much harder to bond with than a unicorn because it is less peaceful. The Pegasus was smart and looked away from her. Leilani reached out her hand to the side and slowly moved it back to herself, the Pegasus trying to resist the magical pull but not really succeeding. Lani walked forward and the Pegasus snorted.

"He's fiery, that one," Voldemort warned. Leilani's lips just curled into a smile as she took two more tentative steps toward the Pegasus. He watched her out of the corner of his eye. She began whispering what sounded like nonsense, but the horse turned his head to look at her. She began whispering more rapidly and her magic was swirling invisibly around her like wind; her hair rising and the magic whipping at her clothes. The Pegasus' mane and tail began to be blown by the wind/magic and the magical energy in the air was high.

I looked up at Voldemort and he was watching her with a look that said, 'and this is why she's my daughter'.

The Pegasus suddenly walked forward and placed his head on her shoulder. The magic began to buzz around them and then suddenly stopped. The bond was complete.

Later on in the evening, something happened that turned the somewhat pleasant atmosphere dark. A young boy was brought up from his cell to be tortured just for the fun of it. He was about seventeen. When I saw him, I almost died. I had thought everyone was dead.

I was wrong.

There, standing chained yet defiant, was Harry's godson, Teddy Lupin. I knew it was him. He looked so much like his father except for his turquoise hair of course. My breath caught looking at him. The poor boy was already bruised and cut, but his eyes were so defiant I almost smiled.

Then Lani and Zosimos began to torture him. The cruciatis curse. Teddy's face contorted in pain and my heart skipped a beat. My eyes kept flitting back and forth between the looks of entertainment on my children's' faces and the look of pain on Teddy's. My children began applying the curse more harshly and Teddy's knees buckled; he was held up only by the chains that bound him. I turned and ran.

I ran upstairs and into my room, out onto the balcony. I noticed I was shaking. I let the cool air whip my face as I cried. I sobbed and gripped the railing tightly. It was all too real. I'd seen them torture people before but never someone who I directly knew and loved. True I had never really met Teddy, but I knew his parents. I cried for me, for him, and for what my children had become. I heard a soft chuckle from behind me.

In the next second, Voldemort's cold hands enveloped my middle from behind. I shoved him, still in hysterics. It had no effect, as he just held me too tightly against himself. "Awww, poor Hermione," he whispered into my ear. I continued to try to escape his strong grasp, crying my eyes out. "Do not worry; the Lupin boy will join his parents- in good time."

"NO!" I screamed at him, trying to hit him, but he grabbed my arms and used them to pull myself even tighter against him. I broke down into choked sobs again and I could sense him smirking evilly.

"Yes, unless of course, he submits. You know, so many of your old friends would still be alive today if they had submitted to me." I felt a stinging sensation in my heart at the harsh reminder of everyone I had loved and still do. "And today, you've noticed that the twins are truly what you feared most; mine." I squeezed my eyes shut in denial, still sobbing. He laughed and I shook my head. "Yes Hermione, they are mine. You know it. You saw it in their eyes; they enjoyed torturing all you ever stood for." His voice was harsh and he gripped my arms more painfully.

From below, I heard Teddy scream louder than I had thought possible. I stopped sobbing, my whole body tensed, listening. Then there was silence. After a minute or so of denying what I was thinking, Voldemort said, "It seems the boy didn't want to submit after all."

"N-no," I breathed, eyes wide in horror. Inside of me, something was breaking. All these years of pain were finally catching up with me. This topped it all off, this was more than I could take. My twins, my husband, Teddy, Harry, Ron... "No!" I yelled, tears once more leaking out of my eyes.

"There's no more hope Hermione." I shook my head, although I felt his words to be the truest thing he had ever said to me. "You are mine."

Those words broke my resistance straight through. My last thread of myself was lost. I couldn't take it anymore. I broke. I stopped pulling away from his grasp. I felt numb. I would later realize that my eyes had adapted a dead, dull look. He looked at me, not quite believing that he had finally done it. Then he smiled triumphantly and laughed. He spun me around to face him, held my chin in his hand and kissed me. I didn't resist. Nothing mattered anymore. Why should I resist? I didn't help him, but I didn't resist either.

I was his.


	10. What Just happened?

**A/N: My darling readers, I am so delighted! So many of you have reviewed and read my story! Keep it up! I apologize sincerely for the long wait! I am so so so so so sorry! Please forgive me! I hope this chapter will help compensate for my ill-excused absence from Fanfiction. **

**Also…The main reason I put so much effort into getting this to you this weekend is because November is NaNoWriMo. For those of you who don't know, NaNoWriMo is National Novel Writing Month. During the month of November, I must write a 50,000 page story. So, I would have no time for fanfiction. I really didn't want you guys to go another month without a chapter, so hopefully this will hold you over until December. :/ **

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

(Leilani's POV)

I was talking with Scorpius, and my two best friends Lisa Nott and Francesca Goyle after torturing that turquoise haired boy. We had orders from Father not to kill him, though I wondered why. After the boy fell unconscious, he was moved back to his cell in the dungeons. Now, we were currently discussing the tactics I used during torture as we drank butterbeer. 

"How do you do it Lani?" Lisa asked curiously. She had black hair and shimmering blue eyes that seemed to dance. "I can never make them scream like you do."

I rolled my eyes and fingered my wand; nine inches, alder, with a dragon heartstring core. "It's simple really. You just have to give it to them in certain doses. Like at first, curse them with a five on a scale from one to ten, ten being the worst, one being the least. Then they wonder, 'How can the pain get worse than this?' After that, you blast it up to a ten on the same scale."

Scorpius smiled at me. "You're insanely smart you know that?"

"She's insane period," Lisa said, leaning back on the couch with a smirk.

"Huh?" Francesca Goyle asked. She wasn't the sharpest sectumsempra in the spell book. She thankfully hadn't inherited her father's looks; she was gorgeous. Alas, she was literally and figuratively blond.

"Never mind," Lisa said. We all laughed.

"So why didn't you come back to Hogwarts this year?" Francesca said, changing the subject.

"Yeah, we've all missed you," Scorpius said. His eyes suggested that he missed me most. I stared down at my butterbeer.

"Father said he wanted to teach us beyond the Hogwarts curriculum. He wasn't satisfied with our level of learning. He's hired a tutor to continue our regular studies, but he wants us to be at home so that he can teach us what he wants."

"I see. I just wish we could see you more," Lisa said.

"Maybe I'll come to visit on a Hogsmeade weekend," I said.

Scorpius, Francesca, and Lisa smiled. "That'd be great," Francesca said. We continued to talk and drink our butterbeers for a while, before Scorpius asked to talk to me privately. I led him to the nearest room away from the noise of the party.

"What is it?" I said.

"I've missed you so much, Lani," he said.

"You came over for lunch and you've been here all day; how can you miss me?" I said, giggling. Scorpius rolled his eyes and pushed me gently against the wall. "No, Scorpius, what if someone sees?" I said, looking around.

"No one will see," Scorpius whispered, pressing his lips to mine. I felt something similar to a fire build inside me as I brought him closer against me. A few minutes later, we pulled apart. We were quite breathless. "For someone who didn't want me to kiss her…" Scorpius trailed off, smirking.

"I never said I didn't want you to kiss me, I just wanted to be cautious," I said, folding my arms. I giggled when I saw Scorpius' lips. "My lipstick looks good on you."

He immediately wiped his lips. I laughed before wiping it off for him. I smoothed out my red dress and fixed my shoulder length dark hair. Scorpius helped me, smoothing his hands over my curls. "Your hair is always incredibly soft," he told me.

"I like yours," I said, reaching up to run my hand through his blonde hair. He smiled. Soon we realized that we would be missed, and returned the party.

Something caught my eye. Coming down from the stairwell were my parents. My father had his arm around my mother. He never did that. Mum would always shove him off. As I watched, he kissed her on the cheek. Again my mum did nothing. What was going on? I wondered. I almost shrugged it off as nothing, but Mum looked strange. I could sense something wasn't right. I looked over at Zosimos, but he wasn't paying attention. Cara Flint was practically throwing herself at him.

"Is something wrong?" Scorpius asked me.

"I'll be right back," I said, making my way over to my brother.

(Zosimos POV)

As soon as I finished torturing the blue haired dude, Cara was blabbing in my ear. "Oh mi gosh Zosimos you are _amazing_! You're _so_ smart and talented and evil and smart-"

"You said that."

"Oh did I? Well it's true! You are _so_ smart! Like _uber_ smart! I'm not as smart as you. Could you tutor me? Please, oh please, oh please?"

I rolled my eyes internally. "On what Cara?"

"Like..._everything_! 'Cause you're _way_ smarter than me! In like _everything_! You're AMAZING!" Her shoulder-length dirty blond hair bounced up and down and her green eyes were wide and insane. I suppressed a groan. She was so annoying. However, she was the daughter of one of my father's more trusted servants, Marcus Flint. For my father, I put up with her...Most of the time. "Please?" She sounded so screechy when she whined! She grabbed my hand while pleading, tugging lightly on it. I glared at her, my eyes narrowed. She instantly let go.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Cara," I said in a warning voice. She didn't notice.

"Oh, but Zosi I need your help!" There she went again, jumping up and down like she was high. Had someone spiked her drink with firewhiskey? I sighed.

"Excuse me, Cara, but I need to talk to my darling brother for a moment." Leilani came to my rescue. Thank goodness.

"Oh..." Cara said, looking pathetically heartbroken. She left and I turned to Leilani, sighing in relief.

"That girl is insane," I groaned. "I'm thinking about finding a girl to date just to get her off my back-"

"Zosimos," my sister interrupted. I stopped talking. "Does Mum look different to you?"

I looked over where my parents were. Father was grinning in a way that almost looked smug as he sat next to my mother. Mum had a strange expression on her face that I couldn't quite put a name to. "Yeah, she doesn't look normal. What happened?"

"I don't know; that's why I was asking you."

I studied my mother's expression. "Do you think she's just upset that we tortured that guy?"

My sister chewed her bottom lip, which, now that I was looking at it, seemed swollen. "I suppose that could be a possible reason, but we've tortured people before and she hasn't had this severe of a reaction."

"Sis, what'd you do to your lip?"

"Hm?" My sister turned to face me.

"Your lip," I said again, "it's swollen."

Lani looked confused, and then her eyes seemed to widen. "Oh, um, I bumped it," she said. I raised an eyebrow and she nodded. "Anyway, I'm still confused about Mum."

I had a vague feeling that she was deliberately changing the subject, but I went with it. "I'll go talk to her then."

"Not with Father there! What if he has something to do with it?" Leilani pointed out.

"What do you want me to do, then?" I said.

Leilani thought for a moment before saying, "I'll distract him, and you can go talk to Mum."

I looked curiously at her. "How do you plan to distract him?"

Lani smirked. "Leave that to me, my dear brother."

I raised an eyebrow. Leilani looked at the people around us. "Randy!" she called out to my best friend. He had dark skin, hair and eyes. She waved him over, and soon he stood beside us.

"Hey," he said.

"I need you to do me a favor," Leilani said. "I need you to help me distract my father."

Randy's eyes widened. He immediately began backing away, but I stopped him. "No way, man, he'd kill me!"

"No, he won't," Lani said. She stared Randy down. "However, he may kill you if I tell him you have displeased me. I am daddy's little princess, after all."

I held in a laugh. Sure, she was daddy's princess, but only if she did what he wanted her to. Leilani sent a quick glare at me before turning back to Randy. "A-alright," Randy said, "what do you need me to do?"

"Dance with me," she said, taking his hand.

"What?"

"Dance with me," she said. She glared at him and tugged him to the middle of the room where a few other people were dancing. Randy looked to me for help but I just smirked. I saw her place his hands low on her hips and pull him close against her. I began to understand her plan as Father caught sight of this. In a total of one second, Father was by Leilani's side.

Father soon left the room with Randy following him shakily. Leilani smiled at me and pranced over to her friends. I quickly walked over to where my mother was sitting. "Mother," I said, sitting down across from her at a table. She didn't look up at me. "Mum, are you alright?" She gave me no reaction. I placed my hand on her folded ones. "Did Father do something?" Her eyes flickered and stared at my hand on hers. She began stroking it softly. "Mum?" I was concerned; what was going on?

"Be a good boy, Zosi," she said. I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear that quiet whisper.

"What?"

She finally looked up at me. I was shocked at the vacancy seen in her once sparkling light brown eyes. "What happened?"

"Be a good boy, Zosi. Follow your dreams, not your father's." She stared at me.

"What are you talking about?" I stared back, trying to read her unfathomable expression.

She squeezed my hand. "Take care of your sister. Find a nice girl, find your true love."

"Mum-"

"Be with your true love when I couldn't, Zosi!" my mother exclaimed.

"Mum, calm down!" She finally calmed. She also looked utterly defeated. "Mum?" I asked. She seemed to ignore me.

"What's going on?" It was Leilani. She sat beside Mum.

"I have no idea," I said.

"Mum?" she said. Mother didn't acknowledge that her daughter had spoken. "Mother?"

Mum sighed and turned to Leilani. "Be a good girl, Lani. Go live happily ever after with that boyfriend of yours."

"Mum!" Lani said in a warning voice. Her eyes were wide.

"What boyfriend?" I said, looking around at the many possible suspects in the room.

"No one, Mum must be confused," Leilani said. "Come on, Zosimos, let's go." She took my hand and dragged me away. Before I could ask her anything she began talking. "What did Mum say to you?"

"She wanted me to not obey Father, and to find a girl. What did she mean when she mentioned 'that boyfriend of yours'?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"Oh! Coming, Lisa!" My sister was gone, leaving me without an answer. I was about to walk back over to my mother when Francesca Goyle stood in my way.

"Hi, Zosimos," she said.

"Hi," I said, trying to move around her.

"Won't you dance with me?" Before I could protest, the blonde beauty had wrapped her arms around my neck. Reluctantly, I placed my hands on her hips.

I had so many questions with no answers. Who was Leilani's supposed boyfriend? Had he hurt her? My mind clicked. Had he made out with her at this very party, explaining the reason her lip was swollen? I was going to kill that boy! Perhaps it was Randy? No, she would've been more cautious than that. I pushed these thoughts to the back of my head.

What had happened to Mum? Why did Mum want me to find a girl? I knew Mum didn't like me obeying my father, but I thought she had accepted that I was going to.

"Zosimos?"

I snapped out of my reverie, realizing that Francesca must've said something. "Sorry, what was that?"

"I said, have you had a nice birthday?"

"Oh…Yes, I suppose so," I said, not wanting to confide in my sister's friend. I looked over at my mother and saw that Father sat beside her now. As I watched, he leaned in and kissed her on the lips. Mother didn't move. Normally, she would've shrugged out of his grip. Something was seriously wrong.


	11. Strike 1: Leilani's Curse

**A/N: **

**George: Uh, hullo there readers. My lovely girl is worried that you guys will hang her for being absent from Fanfiction so long, so she sent me.**

**Fred: And me. Now, in her defense, she's been crazy busy-**

**George: Not to mention she's working on a MASTERPIECE FANFICTION-**

**Fred: THAT WILL BLOW YOUR MIND-**

**GeorgeWeasleysgirl: YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO TELL THEM THAT! I WILL KILL YOU!**

**Fred and George: YIKES! *exits***

**GeorgeWeasleysgirl: Heh heh…Hey…Here's my story please don't kill me for my absence! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**

* * *

(Leilani's POV)

The day after my sixteenth birthday party found me in one of our four libraries, sitting next to my brother. "Did you figure out what was wrong with Mum?" I asked.

"I believe we can find out, but we're going to have to work together," Zosimos said. He raised his tall form from the seat and began pacing slowly in front of the table. As my brother continued to talk, I tried to get my thick hair to create a messy bun by means of a small little hair tie. "First, let's go over the facts. One: yesterday morning, Mum seemed fine. Two: By yesterday evening, something had changed. We have to find out what caused the change."

I rolled my eyes and let my hair down. "Zosi, you over-examine everything."

Zosimos didn't hear me; he continued on. "At the beginning of the party, she seemed fine to me. Did she seem alright to you?"

"Yes," I said, annoyance creeping into my voice. I grabbed at my hair again. "We know that the change happened right after…" I paused, thinking, then continued, "It was right after we tortured that boy with blue hair. Todd-whatever-his-name-is." I managed to pull my hair into a messy bun and was finally content to leave it alone.

"That's it, then," Zosimos said, a frown on his face. "Todd Loop had something to do with Mum's change."

"I suppose that could be possible," I said.

"Alright, here's what we can do. I'll go talk to this guy down in the dungeons." Zosimos nodded to himself, pleased with his plan. He ran a hand through his curly dark hair and then looked at me appraisingly.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you think you could get Father to talk about what happened to Mum?"

I shrugged. "I don't know; he won't tell me anything he doesn't want me to know."

Zosimos nodded. "Alright, but I think you might have a better chance than I would, being Daddy's princess." Zosimos smirked at me and I rolled my eyes with a smile.

"I'll give it a go," I said, standing from the table.

"And I'll go talk to Todd-Whoever."

My brother and I make a good team; when we set our minds to something, we get it done. I walked down the stairs in search of my father, and almost tripped over his gigantic snake. "Nagini!" I hissed. The snake hissed back at me haughtily. We did not get along well at all. "Take me to my father," I commanded. Even though I spoke in English, Nagini obeyed, for I employed my animal connection powers. It was a weird feeling to control an animal; it was a little different than the imperious curse on humans. It was lighter, and less stable. When I was controlling Nagini, I could hear her thoughts, her voice, and I could find myself subject to her will instead of mine if I wasn't careful. However, I had been at this for my whole life, and so only the most strongest and defiant of animals (which were hard to come by) would give me a problem.

Nagini slid up to my father's office, and I released her. She hissed arrogantly and slid away. As I stood before the door, I composed myself. If I wanted information from Father, I had to really get on his good side. Not that I wasn't usually, but I wasn't sure how keen he would be on sharing this information with me. I knocked lightly on the oak door.

"Come in," came my father's cold voice.

When I entered, he was putting away a torn book onto a shelf. I glanced at it curiously, but then regained my focus. "Lani, my dear, what is it?" Father smiled warmly at me. Well, then again, Father never smiled warmly. I suppose he just smiled a little less coldly than usual. I sat down in front of his desk.

"I wanted to thank you again for my Sparky," I said, smiling angelically.

Father smirked as he sat behind his desk. "Sparky? What a…creative name."

I laughed lightly. "Well, I thought it was better than 'Peggy' seeing as he's a boy." Father chuckled. "Was I interrupting you?" I asked, gesturing to the bookshelf.

"No, no," Father said, glancing over at the ripped book. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before looking back at me. "I've actually been meaning to talk with you."

"Oh?" I asked, crossing my legs.

Father nodded. "It's about that Zabini boy you were dancing with last night." I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to protest, but Father held his hand up. "Do you deny that you were dancing with him and that he held you rather close?"

"No," I said. "However, it was just innocent dancing. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Innocent? Maybe you were being innocent, but that boy was not." I knew better not to interrupt my father when he lectured me about boys, so I leaned my chin onto my hand and pretended to listen as he droned on. "His hands were much too low, and you were much too close to him. He obviously had ulterior motives. He will not be allowed over again to see you. If he touches you again- Well, I won't let him. And you're not to see him again, do you hear me, Leilani?"

"Yes, Father," I said. "I apologize."

"Good," he said, calming down a bit. After a few minutes, I spoke again.

"Mum doesn't…seem like herself lately…" I said quietly, looking up at my father through my lashes. He turned his gaze to me but stayed silent. "I don't understand what's going on with her…" There was still no answer, save for the unswerving stare of my father's blood red eyes. Compelled to speak again, I said, "Is she sick?"

"What do you mean?" Father asked.

I pushed a few strands of dark hair that had come out of my bun behind my ear. "Well, she seems awfully quiet, and sad. I was just worried about her. And it was so sudden, too. It happened last night, and she still doesn't seem herself this morning. I thought maybe something had happened-"

"Lani." I fell silent at his voice. His mouth was set in a tight line. "Your mother is fine. And what goes on between me and her is something you had best leave alone. You have an insatiable curiosity, and I both admire and dislike it."

I put my hands in my lap and stared at them. "I'm sorry Father," I said.

"Go on now, get Sparky some exercise." I looked up to see my father was wearing the smallest of smiles. I recognized the dismissal and stood from the chair. I kissed my father's cheek tenderly, and then left the room. As I closed the door, he was standing at his bookshelf again.

* * *

(Zosimos POV)

My footsteps echoed in the cold, dark hallway as I looked for the right cell. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of blue hair. I unlocked the cell door and entered. The teen looked up at me, with fear and defiance in his eyes. I slowly walked toward him. His fear won over and he backed against the wall, his chains still supporting most of his weight. I stared at him, pondering why this boy could be the answer to my mother's current attitude. The boy was ragged looking, with cuts on his face and dirt all over his body. He looked about my age, maybe even older. Why would this blue-haired boy have such an effect on my mother?

"Who are you?" I asked.

"Teddy Lupin," he said. His voice was weak, but it held a strange sort of tone that seemed to show he still had his inner strength.

"Do you have any connection to my mother?"

Lupin's face crinkled in confusion. "Hermione Granger?"

Now I was confused. "You knew my mother before she was Hermione Riddle? How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Lupin said. "I didn't know your mother, but I knew of her."

"How?" I asked.

Lupin shrugged and I narrowed my eyes. "Answer me, Lupin." He said nothing, staring me straight in the eyes. We had a stare off before I lost my patience and flicked my wand. Lupin screamed, writhing against his chains. I was slightly amused by the way his hair changed from blue to red to pink to brown and then back again. I kept the curse going for longer than was necessary so that when I finished, Lupin could barely support his own weight. "Answer me."

"I was told that my parents knew her," Lupin said, his voice hoarse and even weaker than before.

"And who are your parents?" Lupin hesitated a moment too long and then he was screaming again. My lips curled up in a small smile and then I released him. His hair was now purple.

"Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin," he breathed. I had to strain my ears to hear him.

"Well, it was quite nice chatting with you," I said, a smirk on my lips, "but I really must be going." With that, I ducked out of the cell and went to do some research on Lupin's family.

* * *

(Leilani's POV)

I did as I was told and went outside to see Sparky. Our half-blood stable boy was grooming him. "Farm boy," I called out. The blonde boy ducked his head and feebly asked what I wanted. "I want to take my Pegasus out for a ride."

The boy nodded and immediately reached for a saddle, but I shook my head. He nodded and whispered, "As you wish."

"Come on, Sparky," I cooed, leading him out of the cell. When we were at last out of the stable, Sparky stretched his wings._ I hate those stalls. Can't you get me a larger one? I can barely stretch my wings!_ I loved being able to talk to animals through their mind.

I laughed and spoke through my mind back to him. _I'll see what I can do. Let's go for a flight, it'll make your wings feel better._

Sparky snorted and let me climb onto her back. Immediately, we took off and I closed my eyes and sighed. I loved the feeling of the wind in my face. Recklessly, I lifted my hands off of Sparky's back and embraced the sky with wide arms. I gave a scream of delight. After a while, though, it began to get cold so high up, and I motioned for Sparky to land. _That was fun._

_I'm glad you enjoyed yourself_, Sparky spoke.

I patted him on the head. _Now stay out here for a while_- I saw a flash of light out of the corner of my eye, and then everything went black.

* * *

(Zosimos POV)

I sat down, groaning, a huge pile of books surrounding me. It was hopeless. I had searched all of the four libraries in the Mansion. Apparently Dad had ensured that all the history and lineage books from before his reign were destroyed. I didn't know where else to look. Then again…Dad had his own personal library in his office. Perhaps I could find what I needed there. I picked myself up off of the floor just in time to hear my mother scream, "ZOSIMOS! COME QUICK!" The desperate, scared tone caused me to bolt down the stairs. My sister was lying on the couch, unconscious. Her skin was freakishly pale, and I noticed blood trailing from her hands. My mother was trying to stem the blood flow, and I wondered what curse this had been. It was obvious it was dark magic though, looking at how Lani was reacting to it. She seemed still as stone.

"What happened?" I asked, kneeling beside my sister.

"I don't know," my mother looked close to hysterics. "Frank, the stable hand, said he found her out in the field when her Pegasus led him to her. Do you recognize the spell? I'm no good with Dark Magic curses."

I looked Leilani over, trying to see where she was bleeding. Under the fingernails. That was disgusting, but obviously a Marking Curse. The blood from her nails began to flow onto her fingers, twisting in a message that the caster of the spell would have wanted us to see. I knew the message would leave a scar if I didn't act quickly. "Stay back, Mother," I ordered, waving my wand over Lani's body. I murmured a soft incantation, almost like a song, and delicately waved it over the blood. The tendrils of deep red danced hypnotically to my tune and slowly left my sister's skin. I repeated the incantation until almost all the blood was gone. However, there was still a faded message on her palms, reading 'Give us back what was ours'. "It won't scar," I said softly to my mother. Now that I had taken care of Lani, anger began to overwhelm me. Who had dared to hurt her? I would kill him. Literally.

She was just staring at the message. "What does it mean?"

"I don't know," I said, my fist clenching of its own accord.

Just then, my father entered the room. He took one look at us, and strode over to Leilani. Mum explained what happened to him, and he examined the message on Lani's palms. My father turned to me. "You did well in stopping that curse, son." I thanked him and then he turned to Mum. "Stay by Leilani; she might need comfort from the effects of the curse. I'm going to hunt down the person who shot that curse." In a flourish, my father stormed from the room. My mother and I glanced at each other, and then Lani stirred. Her skin was still pale, but she didn't look as bad as before.

Her eyelids fluttered and then she tensed. "Shh, Lani, it's alright," Mum said, stroking her arm.

"What h-happened?" Leilani asked, looking around. "I went for a ride, and then there was a light, and…"

"You got hit with a spell," Mum soothed. "But everything's alright now. Your brother reversed the curse and you're going to be alright."

My sister turned to me with questioning eyes. "It was a Marking Curse. We don't know who cast it or what him or her meant by it."

Lani instinctively looked at her palms and repeated the phrase to herself. "I don't understand," she muttered.

"Just rest," Mum said, stroking Lani's hair. She nodded and hesitantly leaned back on the couch. I stood, and walked toward the door. "Where are you going?"

I turned back, knowing full well my eyes were flashing red. "No one hurts my sister and gets away with it." Mum called after me, but I ignored her, storming out of the house.

* * *

(Hermione POV)

My husband and my son had not come back yet, even as I watched the afternoon turn to dusk and then into night. Leilani was asleep, but every now and then she would awaken, trembling. I put a calming spell on her, but was afraid to give her a sleepless dream potion in case the dark magic in her somehow got into it. Tenderly, I pushed her dark hair out of her eyes, and sat back in a large armchair. She seemed calm for now, and I was left to the thoughts in my mind.

This event had woken me from the emptiness I had felt. I was still Voldemort's, but once again I could feel. I cared for my children, and my neglected mind began whirring, looking for clues as to who could have cast the curse on my daughter. It was someone who knew Dark Magic, I knew that much. It definitely wasn't any of the muggles in the vicinity, but there were only a few people of magical ability around.

Leilani stirred, but when I looked, she had just moved to lie on her side. Her hands pillowed her cheek and I wondered about the message itself. 'Give us back what was ours.' What had me, Leilani, Zosimos, or my husband have taken? And from whom? The light? But that was impossible; I had been told that all people from the light side were dead. Maybe it was an enemy of my husband; a death eater turned against him. Maybe my husband had killed someone's relative. That was more than likely, but I had no evidence. I sighed, frustrated. This wasn't even something I could look up in the library and come back with an answer.

Slowly, with my gaze on my daughter, my eyelids began drooping. Before I knew it, sleep had embraced me and also given me a dream.

_"Hermione."_

_There was white everywhere, in a consistency that looked like clouds. I didn't know how I was standing, but I was. As I looked around for the voice, I saw jet black hair and a pair of emerald eyes. "Oh, Harry," I breathed, moving closer to him._

_"Why did you give up?" he asked, a sadness playing in his eyes. I noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses, and he wore white robes. "Why?" he asked again._

_"He took everything from me, Harry. You, Ron, Ginny, Luna, McGonagall, Dumbledore, Viktor, Teddy, everyone! How could I not give up?" I lowered my gaze to his chest, but he tilted my chin up to look into my eyes. When he spoke, his voice was strong yet gentle._

_"You've been strong. Stronger than me, or Ron, or anyone. I need you to continue to be strong, if not for me or Ron, for your children. I don't think they're completely lost yet."_

_I shook my head, tears in my eyes. "They're his, and so am I."_

_"Hermione," he said. His voice was filled with a broken tenderness that tore me apart._

_"I can't, Harry. You're right, I've been strong. But I can't do it anymore. Everyone's strength runs out sometimes. I've held on for the past seventeen years, hoping something would change, and it hasn't. If fate waited until now to use me, it's too late. I can't do it. I can't." I felt Harry's arms around me and cried silently into him._

_"I know, Hermione, I know. It's unfair. I wish it didn't have to be you."_

_Then, the arms were pulling back, wind was whooshing in my ear, and the clouds were pulling away as if sucked into a vacuum._

I sat up straight and blinked in the darkness. I took a moment to remember where I was, and then rushed forward to check on Leilani. She was tossing and turning uncomfortably. It looked like she was having nightmares so I placed another calming spell and watched as she slowly relaxed. I sat back and pondered my dream.

"I'm sorry, Harry," I whispered, "I can't do it anymore."


	12. The Muggle and the Library

**Hello again! Sorry for the wait. This chapter...is a bit of a filler, but it contains some important things. I enjoyed it, and I hope you will too.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter**

* * *

(Zosimos POV)  
I searched all night for the caster of the curse. I even crossed my father a few times, and he just gave me a nod of approval before continuing to search. When dawn began to break I sighed and rubbed my eyes as Zorra and I traveled through the lane. Everyone who lived around here was just enslaved muggles. There was no one who knew magic, and even if there was, I don't think there was anyone who would know dark magic. Zorra snorted tiredly beneath me. "Alright girl, we'll get you home soon," I soothed. I patted her gently. "You did real good, staying with me all night." Zorra seemed to nod in agreement. "I just wish I could kill the person who dared curse my sister," I sighed.

At this point, we made it to some fruit trees that lined the lane and Zorra slowed down. "Fine, fine," I said, allowing her to grab some apples. I heard a tree branch snap and was instantly alert. I slid off of Zorra's back and drew my wand, walking slowly toward the source of the sound. Another tree branch snapped and I froze before approaching again, cautiously. When I rounded a corner, I saw a figure in the shadows, by a tree. I watched it closely, trying to judge what it was through the semi-darkness. I heard it breathing, and I finally decided that it was a person. The next moment, a little bit of light came through the branches above to the base of the tree, and I saw that it was a girl.

I wondered if she could have shot the curse, but as the light shone on her ripped clothes and dirt-covered body, I realized she was part of the lower class; muggles. I watched as she grabbed apples off of the tree and placed them in a basket. I leaned against another tree, thinking about how nice it would be to let my anger and frustration out on a muggle like her. She reached for some more apples, but they were too high for her. I realized she was quite short; I had to be at least a foot taller than her. She grabbed the lowest tree branch and pulled herself up, climbing the tree. I was impressed by the way the petite girl climbed with such ease. She was strong, despite her size. She grabbed a few more apples and then hopped down, placing them in her basket.

She looked up for some reason, and froze when she saw my silhouette against a tree. "Who's there?" she called out, standing up straight. I chuckled quietly and she narrowed her eyes despite any fear inside of her. "Who are you?"

I leaned forward and walked nearer to her, and a patch of early morning light fell onto my face. "Zosimos Riddle, at your service," I said sarcastically, giving a small bow.

Her face paled and she instantly fell to her knees. "M-m-my lord," she stuttered.

I chuckled darkly, and slowly walked toward her. She was trembling, which didn't surprise me. My sister and I were known for our cruelty to muggles. It was like a sport to us. I raised my wand, about to have a little fun, when I realized she could be useful. "Do you live around here?" I asked.

She glanced cautiously up at me, through a curtain of dark hair. "Yes," she said.

I twirled my wand in my hand and her eyes followed it, panic and a small sliver of something I couldn't quite place in her expression. "Are there any people of magical ability in this vicinity?"

I watched her think, noting that her eyes were a bright blue. "I am not sure," she finally said.

"Not sure? Do I need to jog your memory?" I asked. Before she could answer, I sent a light crucio to her. I knew it wasn't necessary, but it was entertaining to hear her scream. I released the curse shortly after I had begun it, and she panted, staring at me with wide, scared eyes. "Do you remember now?"

She swallowed. "There is an old hermit who lives in a cave not far from here. I do not know if he is magical, but strange things happen to those who venture too close. My brother claims to have seen sparks of colored light from the cave opening, but I do not know if he was trying to scare me or if he was actually being truthful." She then tensed, as if she were preparing for another cruciatis. She probably thought her information wasn't good enough, and in a way it wasn't, but it was all I had to go on.

"I suppose we shall find out together," I said finally, whistling for Zorra. As she approached, the girl stared at the unicorn in wonder. "You will take me to this hermit," I commanded, drawing her attention back to me.

She nodded and hesitantly rose to her feet. "As you wish, my lord."

"How far is it from here?"

"It is about a 45 minute walk."

I internally shuddered at the thought of letting a muggle like her touch me, but I wanted to get there soon. I mounted Zorra and harshly thrust my hand out to the girl. She stared at me in fear, and then disbelief. "Come on, I haven't got all day," I snapped. She immediately grabbed my hand and swung up behind me. Zorra snorted, and I patted her. I stiffened as I felt the muggle's arms slide around my middle, but said nothing. I urged Zorra forward, and we set off at a brisk trot.

For a while, we said nothing, and I tried to forget the fact that a muggle was touching me. I noticed she smelled like pine trees and dirt. About ten minutes later, we came to a fork in the road. "Which way?" I asked.

"Right," she said. I noticed her voice was still shaky and vaguely wondered if it was from the cruciatis or the fact that she was touching the caster of the curse. Zorra veered right and we traveled on. After a few minutes, the girl got brave. "Lord…What's that feeling? That tingling?" she asked.

I was confused, until I realized she had probably never felt magic before. "It's magic," I said, deciding to answer.

A few minutes later, she spoke again. "Is the magic feeling from you, or your unicorn?"

Her voice sounded a little less shaky, and more curious. I didn't like that the fear was leaving her. "Probably both."

"Is it-"

"No more questions, girl, you're annoying me," I said, my tone harsh. She immediately shut up. The rest of the ride was silent, until we came to another fork in the road.

"Left, and it should be right there," she said, her voice quieter than before. I slowed Zorra down as we went left, and sure enough there was a cave on the left side of the lane, just visible through a line of pine trees. I slipped off my unicorn, not bothering to help the muggle down, and walked slowly toward the cave entrance.

"Get away from my cave!" The voice sounded old and croaky. I saw the shadow of the old man in the entrance of the cave. "He was my son! You took him! You can't take my cave, too! Come and try! Come on, kiddies, come on!"

"He's also suspected of being crazy," the girl said, now standing next to me.

"Shut up, and stay out of my way," I said, walking ever closer to the cave. She stayed by a tree, and I felt her stare on me.

"He's dead, and you will be too!" the old man shouted. "My cave will not die! Bah! My cave will not leave me like he did! No, no, no!"

I was thirty feet from the cave opening when he shot at me. I deflected it easily, and continued walking. He continued to attack, but even if he did hit me, it was such a weak curse that I would hardly feel it. I made it to the cave and sent a disarming spell toward him.

"Hey! Gimme back my wand, kiddie! You can't take my wand like they took him! You can't do that!" The man's voice was becoming shrill and when I rounded the corner he was pacing, a gleam in his eye. The old man was bent over, with an overgrown beard and a balding head. He looked up at me, and his expression softened. "You look like a nice boy, like my boy was. Until they took him away!" And then he was screaming again. I sent a stunning hex toward him and he fell like a rock. I doubted he was the one to curse my sister; his spells were weak, and he was crazy, but he was definitely of magical ability, however limited it was. I levitated him, and his body followed me back to Zorra.

I glanced at the sky and guessed the time to be about seven in the morning. Only then did my tiredness really begin to set in. I had been out here since late afternoon yesterday. The muggle watched me get back on my horse and bit her lip as if to keep herself from saying something. I was about to leave when the girl called out to me. "My lord?" I stopped and stared at her. She cleared her throat. "If you are going back the way you came-"

I cut her off, cruel laughter erupting from my chest. "You think I would take you home?" I laughed again as she ducked her head, her face red. "If I had had more time, I would've made you walk here instead of letting you ride with me. No, I will not take you home." I then rode away, still laughing.

When I finally got home, I handed Zorra off to the farm boy, and brought the old hermit inside. Inside the living room, my mother was giving Leilani a glass of water, and my father was sitting in the armchair across from them. They all looked up when they saw me. "I doubt this is the caster of the curse, because he is insane, but he is a wizard nonetheless," I explained.

My father nodded and started examining the old man. I made my way over to Leilani. "How're you feeling, sis?" I asked, squeezing her shoulder.

"Better," she said, smiling. I glanced at my mum and we shared a small smile.

"We'll lock him in the dungeons for now; we'll deal with him after we've rested," my father said. I nodded and my father took the old man down the hallway.

"I need to take a shower; I had to have some muggle girl show me where the crazy man was," I shuddered.

"What, did she touch you?" Lani asked.

I nodded. "It was quite a distance away so we rode on Zorra."

"Together? Ew!" Lani said, making a face. Mum took Leilani's empty glass and walked away, her face showing disapproval.

"Ew and you touched my shoulder!" Lani exclaimed, wiping it.

I laughed. "Give me a hug, sis!"

"No, stop it!" she said, laughing but edging away. I slowly reached for her, still laughing. "Don't you dare! I will kill you-"

"Children, grow up. Muggles don't have cooties." We saw that Mum had re-entered the room. She looked quite annoyed with us.

There was a long pause of silence, and then I spoke. "Still…I'm going to go take a nice, long shower." Then, I went upstairs, Mum tsking after me.

* * *

(Lani's POV)

A little while later, I remembered that I had wanted to ask Zosimos if he had found out anything concerning the blue-haired dude and Mum. I went to get up from the couch, but Mum shook her head. "Lani, you need to rest."

"I've been resting since I got hit with that curse," I whined.

"It's Dark Magic, Lani," Mum said sternly.

"So? I've been around it my whole life," I said getting off of the couch. Mum let me go, but her face was still showing worry. I ran up the stairs and down the hallway, knocking on Zosimos' door.

Zosimos opened the door, his hair still wet from the shower. "Come to thank me for trying to avenge you?" he asked, smiling.

I laughed. "You failed, since you didn't catch him. So no, but I do have a question for you." He turned and walked back into his immaculate room and I followed. "What did you find out about that blue-haired dude?"

Zosimos towel-dried his hair as he spoke. "He's seventeen. His parents knew Mum before she married Father."

I crinkled my eyebrows. "Who are his parents?"

Zosimos thought for a moment, trying to recall the information from his sleep-deprived brain. "I think it was Remus Lupin and some weird chick…Nymph-something Tonks-Lupin."

I shrugged. "Means nothing to me. Father didn't let me in on anything about Mum. He was pre-occupied too, with whatever he was doing in his library."

Zosimos lied upon his bed, his arm covering his eyes. "I searched all four-" Zosimos broke off suddenly and sat up, his eyes wide.

"What?" I asked.

"I searched all four libraries for the names Lupin and Tonks, but I didn't search Father's private library."

"Do you think-"

"It's worth a try. Let's go find out-"

"Whoa," I interrupted, pushing him back on the bed. He stared at me, confused. "You didn't get a wink of sleep last night. You stay here and rest; I'll go."

He rolled his eyes. "Leilani, you were cursed with Dark Magic, you're equally as tired."

I shook my head, walking to the door. "No, I'm not. Remus Lupin and something Tonks-Lupin?"

Zosimos sighed but nodded. "Good luck." He lied down on his bed once more.

"Get some sleep," I told him, closing the door. I quickly walked up another set of stairs, looking for my Father's office. As I walked, I thought about how much time I would have. Father had mentioned resting, and even when he was done resting, he was going to go down to the dungeons to interrogate the crazy old guy. It was pretty much guaranteed that he wouldn't be in his office now or anytime soon. Still, I knocked on the door to double check. Nobody answered, as I expected, so I turned the doorknob. It was locked.

I took out my wand and pointed it at the doorknob. "Alohomora." Nothing happened. I searched the door for signs of magical protection, but nothing shimmered at all. I came to the conclusion that he must have a password, and if he had a password, it would be in parseltongue. I sighed; it was just my luck that my brother had inherited that and I hadn't. Perhaps if I pretended the doorknob was a snake, and employed my animal connection powers, it would do the trick. "Open," I said, using my magic. The doorknob jiggled. "Open!" I said again. The door slowly creaked open, and I entered, feeling triumphant.

I walked past my father's desk and to the section full of bookshelves. To my surprise, the more I walked, the longer the room seemed to get. My father had seemingly enchanted the room to look smaller than it was. There were books upon books on shelves upon shelves in this office and I rolled up my sleeves, clapping my hands. "Alright, Lani, let's see what we got," I muttered. I searched for a while, finding nothing but Dark Magic books, and then I came across shelves full of history.

My eyes widened at the pure amount of books that were on the subject. I ran my fingers over the covers, reading. "A Guide to the Past,  Before and After the First Wizarding War, Before and After the Second Wizarding War," I mumbled to myself. I paused. Would Lupin's parents be in this book, or should I look for lineage books? Shrugging I grabbed this book, but duplicated it so that my father wouldn't know I had taken it. I walked down to the end of the shelf and saw a rather heavy tome. "Wizards and Witches of the 20th century: A-L" Lupin began with L, so I grabbed it, and looked for the volume that would have Tonks, just in case.

After this, I went back to the history section and grabbed A Guide to the Past. I figured if I did find something interesting about Lupin, I would need to look it up in a different book. These lineage books didn't usually give much detail if I remembered correctly from others I'd seen in the other libraries. I also grabbed five other history books; better to be safe than sorry. I stared at the pile of heavy books before me and shrunk them, putting the now tiny books in my pocket. I duplicated the ones I had taken as well.

I headed back to the door, when I noticed the ripped book on my father's shelf. Curiosity burned in me and I walked toward it. What was it? I reached out a hand but then froze. I could feel the wards around it. Why would Father protect a ripped up, useless book? Unless it wasn't useless. I wondered about its importance for a bit, but then decided I wouldn't get any answers currently. Maybe Zosimos would have an idea; I could ask him later.

I left Father's office and headed up to my room, passing Nagini on the way. I glared at her and she hissed at me as I walked up the stairs. "Stupid snake," I muttered, opening the door to my room. I sat on my large bed, enjoying the breeze from the open window. Unlike my brother's room, mine was messy and disorganized. The bed wasn't made, clothes were everywhere, books, parchment, and quills were scattered all over the floor, and that's how I liked it.

I opened the first lineage book, flipping forward. I stopped for a moment when I saw the name "Black". Something clicked in my brain. Scorpius' grandmother was a Black, wasn't she? I looked at the names, reading. Sure enough, "Narcissa Black-Malfoy" was there, right below… "Andromeda Black-Tonks". I froze. Then, I saw that to the right of this name was the name, "Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin." Quickly, I checked the other volume. I flipped a few pages and ran my finger down the line, but couldn't find the name Tonks anywhere. That must mean that Andromeda Black had married a muggle. I looked for anything else the other book said about Nymphadora, but it only said she was a known metamorphmagus, and below that, it mentioned her husband, Remus John Lupin, and her son, Ted Remus Lupin. It seemed Teddy, or Ted, had inherited his mother's metamorphmagus genes.

Then, I looked up Lupin's name in the other volume. Beside his name it said, "Known Werewolf." Interesting, I thought. Lupin was a metamorphmagus, and a half-werewolf. I had never heard of that combination before. I wondered if my father knew about this, then realized he probably did, being the all-powerful Voldemort.

I wondered if Scorpius would know anything about his distant relative. I decided I would make an excuse to see him and ask about it sometime soon. For now, though, I picked up the other books I had borrowed. I needed to know how Lupin's parents had known my mother.

* * *

**A/N: So, there you have it. I'll probably update relatively soon because I know exactly what I'm going to have happen next. **

**Any guesses on who the crazy old dude is?**

**Also, Reviews make my life ;)**


End file.
